Question

How can you say that President occupies the position of a nominal head of the state

Answer 1

Article 74 of the Constitution says that the Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister advises President to take executive decisions. So it is the Prime Minister and his council which has the real over while President is merely doing it officially. Supreme Court has also said that when we talk of opinion of President, it is the opinion of Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister and not his individual opinion.

Answer 2

Being a parliamentary form of government, India has a separate head of state and head of government. The head of state is the president who holds the highest office whereas the head of government is the prime minister. Although the president holds the highest office, he is just the nominal head and his position is that of mainly a figurehead as he or she is bound by the Constitution to follow the advice of the prime minister. So he has no power at his hand to make his own decisions. Hope this helps!